


Play You Like A Fiddle

by sciencefictioness



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Eren, Blow Jobs, First Dates, M/M, Mafia Boss Levi, Tumblr Ask Box Fic, violinist eren
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-21
Updated: 2016-09-08
Packaged: 2018-04-16 09:13:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4619799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sciencefictioness/pseuds/sciencefictioness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi is a mafia boss, and there's been a shady brunet nosing around his operation.  When he pulls the kid in to interrogate him and find out who he's working for, instead of the name of a rival group, Levi gets a love confession.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Played

Levi leaned back in his chair, one leg crossed over the other as he steepled his fingers, tapping the tips against each other lazily. He hated that it had come to this, he really did. With a sigh he loosened his tie a bit, tugging it left and right. There was no better part of the day than when he got out of his suit, and it seemed like an eternity away at this point. Most of his underlings had gone home, leaving only his sister and his right hand man, Jean. Along with the green eyed brunet on his knees at Levi's feet, hands tied behind his back with a gag in his mouth. Christ, the kid was fucking beautiful. It would be a shame if he had to beat that pretty face in. His gut clenched at the mere thought.

"Take that fucking gag out of his mouth, Mikasa. Cut those ropes off, too. Did you have to tie him up? Are we savages? He doesn't look particularly threatening to me." He looked terrified, actually. Bright eyes wide and full of tears that had not yet spilled down his face, darting around the room desperately. Jean spoke up, cracking his knuckles from where he leaned against the desk behind Levi.

"He wouldn't shut the fuck up, boss. Kept begging for his life and all that. Gets pretty old when we haven't done anything. He still has his fingernails, right? Just give it a rest, Jesus."

The kid was shaking as Levi's sister moved forward, and when she pulled out a blade he made a strangled noise in his throat. Flinched hard when Mikasa slid the knife down into the ropes that held his wrists and sliced them free before tugging his gag out and tossing it in the trash. Levi couldn't help but cringe at the sight of the slobbery rag in his wastebasket. _Fucking disgusting._ He waited for the kid to start babbling, _please don't kill me, I'll do anything, let me go, blah blah blah..._ As a drug lord and high ranking mafia boss, Levi had heard it all. But he remained silent, and Levi realized he wasn't a complete idiot. All that begging pissed Levi off, honestly. Made him less inclined to be nice. Although those gemstone eyes and that messy hair... this kid was god damned adorable. Innocent, in some strange way, and Levi wanted to corrupt him. Take the white canvas of this boys life and taint it with lust and heat and darkness....

He shook himself, crossing his legs in the other direction and clearing his throat.

"All right, kid. What's your name?" They already knew his name, or at least his assumed one, but it was always good to get them talking.

"E-Eren Jaeger." Levi nodded, as though he was learning something.

"Okay, Eren Jaeger. Spit it out. You been nosing around me for weeks and weeks now. Who do you work for?" Those brows furrowed, and he looked at Mikasa and Jean as if for some kind of help. Turned back to Levi, confusion written over his features.

"I work at the music shop over on fourth street. Rose Records." Levi let out a bark of laughter, scratching at his undercut before continuing, rocking his chair back and forth.

"We know what your cover job is, you dumb shit. Who are you informing for? The cops? The Reiss family? The cartel? We're not going to kill you, if we killed every lackey that made eyes at us we'd be in fucking jail instead of sitting here talking. You can keep taking your notes on where I go and what I do, I don't give a shit, but I need to know who's writing your paychecks. So who do you work for?" The Reiss group hadn't sent any fresh meat to keep tabs on the Ackermans for quite some time, so Levi was betting on their competition, but you never could tell. Maybe the cartels had gotten brave and decided to send this pretty boy their way. This pretty boy who was stuttering over his words, looking even more frightened.

"I-I-I don't work for anyone like that, I... I repair instruments! I sell shitty old records! I'm not an informant, I fucking swear!" 

The brunet was good, Levi would give him that. He could almost believe it was true, except it never, ever was. Two decades of this shit, and the first story Levi got was never the right one. He could tell this might take awhile, and if he had to make this kid bleed, he didn't want Mikasa watching. Not that she wasn't just as vicious, but whenever his knuckles were covered in blood, little flecks of it on his clothes, his face... If he looked at his sister all he could picture was her as a toddler in little footsy pajamas. A sippy cup in one hand and a teddy bear in the other as she wobbled over to him with a smile. So he sighed again, for the hundredth time that day, before waving his hands dismissively at the pair.

"You two fuck off, go home. I can handle this on my own." Mikasa shrugged, knowing why she was being sent away. She resented being 'looked down on', as she put it, but knew there was no use arguing. Jean hesitated in the doorway, glancing between the kid and Levi.

"You sure 'bout this, boss? Marco's still out on that drop off, ain't nobody at home anyway. I can stay. 's no trouble." Levi shot him a look and he put his hands up. "All right, all right. See ya tomorrow morning." 

"See ya." The door shut behind them with a click, and Levi watched the brunet rub out the soreness in his wrists. Eren eyed him warily, more nervous now that the others were gone. _Smart._

"All right, let's try this one more time, shall we? You are at Cafe Sina every Tuesday and Thursday at the same time I am without fail. So I thought, maybe you go there everyday, no big deal. But when I had my boys check it out, they said you're not. Only when I'm there, and if I skip a day you're looking around like someone kicked your puppy. You go past this place twice a day on your way to your 'job', even though you have to walk an extra mile to do so. And when I go meet with people in the park at lunch time, I almost always see you. Pretending not to look, but I know your looking. I see you more than I see some of the people who work for me, kid. So once more with feeling and we can all go home without broken bones. Who. Do. You. Work. For." Eren was frantic, gesticulating wildly, eyes blinking too fast.

"No one! Just the record store! I swear! I don't know anything a-about... about drugs or cartels or any of that! I mean, I smoked pot once, but I had an asthma attack! You gotta believe me!" Fuck, and Levi really didn't want to do this. He wanted to break this boy, yes, but not with his fists. Levi wanted to break Eren with soft words and heated touches, until he fell apart underneath him. But if he didn't get some answers, he'd pull them out by any means necessary.

"Please, kid. I don't wanna hurt ya', okay? Just give me a name. The right name, because if you lie I will find out." 

"I-I-I-" Levi stood up, leaning down to shout in the boys face.

"SPIT IT THE FUCK OUT!" 

"I LIKE YOU!" Levi blinked, standing back up to his full height and letting those words sink in.

"You.... you fuckin' what?" Eren cringed, a blush painting his cheeks and _fuck,_ that wasn't fair at all. He backed up a little bit, wrenching his eyes shut before speaking.

"I like you. I kept seeing you around here, at the cafe and on my way to work. You came in the record store once. I thought you were really attractive, and I didn't mean to be creepy but I found myself trying to see you whenever I could. I wanted to talk to you, but I'm not really good with words and there's just... so _much_ of you somehow, you're... larger than life, or something and-" Levi cut him off, scowling.

"Wait, wait, wait. Time out. You don't even know me. What, it's love at first sight or some stupid shit like that? Are you a twelve year old girl?" Eren was shaking his head, biting that lip of his and if he didn't stop, Levi would bite it for him instead. 

"No! I mean, kind of. Not the twelve year old girl thing... uhh.. You're always so polite to the waitresses at the cafe, and you pet every dog you pass even if you sanitize your hands afterwards. I saw you save a stray from getting run over once, and when a guy honked his horn at you, you jumped on the hood of his car and spit on his windshield before cussing him out. And another time you helped some old lady pick up all her groceries that spilled on the sidewalk. I play the violin, and when you climb into your car there's always violin music playing. I hear you listening to Ave Maria a lot, and I practiced forever trying to get that piece right. I thought my shoulders were going to fall off my body, but I can play it perfectly now. Maybe I don't know you, but no one who's that polite and saves stray dogs and helps old ladies and likes violin music can be that bad, right?"

Oh, God. This little brat had been watching Levi for even longer than he thought if he'd seen him do all those things. He'd never really thought of himself as a nice guy. Pushing kilos of drugs and running brothels and laundering money tended to skew his viewpoint a little, perhaps. But the way this kid described him, Levi was a regular boy scout. It was almost funny, really.

"Stand up, Eren." He obeyed, and Levi stepped in close, walking around him in a slow circle. Eren didn't turn to watch him, just stood frozen and followed Levi with his eyes. "So, you think I'm a good guy, eh? Helping old ladies, petting dogs. Saving buses full of orphans and nuns and orphaned nuns and shit." The brunet shrugged.

"I didn't know you were a... a mafia boss, or whatever it is you are, but I still can't really think you're a bad guy. Maybe you do some illegal shit, but assholes don't do all the little kind things I've seen you do for months now. You might technically be a bad guy, but I don't think you're a bad _person._ " Levi stopped in front of Eren, brushing the hair back from the kid's face and watching it flush impossibly brighter.

"Hmm. You play the violin, Eren?" He ran his thumb over the brunet's bottom lip, and he could feel the boy shiver as he nodded. "You think I could play you?" Eren's brows furrowed again and he remained silent, not sure what Levi meant. The shorter man leaned in until his mouth was right next to Eren's ear and whispered into it, letting his hand trail down the boy's chest. "If I pluck your strings, will you make pretty sounds, Eren?" The brunet panted, and Levi eased his fingers around Eren's belt, tugging them tight against each other. Levi licked the shell of his ear, and his next words were made of silk.

"If I use my hands just right will you sing for me?"


	2. All The Right Notes

The noise he pulled out of Eren was something raw between a whine and moan, and Levi wondered if he realized how delicious it sounded. 

"Oh, listen to that.  I think you're out of tune, little one."  Eren was taller than he was, broader, but that did not matter.  Levi eased his hand down to the inside of the boy's thigh, nuzzling into his throat.  "I'll have to fix that.  Can't have my new baby singing off key, can I?"  

Eren shook his head vigorously, leaning into Levi's touch with unbridled eagerness, and he had a brief moment of hesitation.  This kid had the wrong idea about Levi, watching him all starry eyed and worshipful, nursing a crush for months on end.  It was probably not ethical to do this to him, break him into a thousand breathless pieces, listen to Eren call out his name.  Listen to him beg and plead, desperate for whatever Levi would give him.  

But morality and Levi were not always the best of friends, and this boy was achingly beautiful.  Willing, and shoving into Levi's hand.  Flushed and trembling and Levi hadn't even really touched him yet.  It would take a stronger man than he to pull himself away.  He reached to tilt Eren's face down towards him, watching those pupils blow wide, and Levi couldn't fight back a dark smile.

"My name is Levi, Eren Jaeger.  And if you'd like me to stop, I'd suggest you tell me now."  The brunet shook his head again, gnawing on his lip, breathing uneven, and Levi was surprised when he managed to get words out.

"Please don't stop."  There was still something itching at Levi's mind, though.  An uncertainty.  An unwillingness to push this boy further, to force or coerce.  Unwilling to take something not willingly given.

Levi had shot people with less forethought than this.  He absently wondered what it was about the kid that made him so eager to do the right thing.  Dangerous.

This boy was dangerous.

Levi took a step back, removing his hands from Eren's thigh, his belt, and the look on his face was priceless.  Utter disappointment.  A child whose toy had been taken away, and Levi fought down a grin.

"Listen, nothing's gonna happen if you say no, all right?  I believe you are who you say ya are.  If you want, you can walk out that door, no one's gonna bother you, yeah?  Go home to your two buddies, go to work tomorrow fixing trumpets or whatever the fuck.  I'm no saint, but I'm not gonna force you into something either.  I also ain't all that patient, so I need an answer.  You staying or going?"  

There was a heartbeat of silence, Eren watching him with wide eyes, and it frightened Levi how much he was suddenly invested in the boy's answer.  Something was swooping low in his guts, a nervous anticipation he had not felt in quite awhile.

The last time Levi felt this anxious, he'd been a fucking teenager pulled over by the cops with a body in his trunk.  Thanks for that one, uncle Kenny.

All his nerves were misplaced, it seemed, because Eren smiled a bit.  Took a step towards Levi, and with more courage than he'd thought the brat possessed, Eren reached out and took his hand.

"Staying.  If that's all right... Levi."  He said the name tentatively, trying it out, and a weaker man would've closed his eyes at the sound.  Eren's voice was smooth, and soft, and Levi could not wait to listen to it break.  He looked down to where there fingers were interlaced, and he could not keep the smile back this time.

"Oh, that's so fuckin' cute."

Levi pulled his hand away, snatching Eren up from the floor and pulling the brunet into his arms bridal style.  The kid made a startled yelping noise, cutting himself off just as quickly, hiding his face in his hands in embarrassment.  Levi  carried him over to the couch that was sitting against the far wall, easing him down into the soft black cushions before standing back up.  _Fuck._   Eren shifted under his stare, all pink cheeks and fingers tangled together, hair falling into his eyes.  Levi felt himself shoot hard in his clothes, struggling to remember exactly how long it had been since he'd gotten laid.  Six months?  Nine?  However much time had passed, they definitely hadn't been like this.  Innocent and awkward, radiating nervousness.  Trembling with it.  

His job did not exactly make it easy to form a lasting relationship, and when he'd finally secured his place in the family business, it didn't take much time for all the girls to realize they were getting exactly nowhere throwing themselves at Levi.

Didn't take the boys much time to realize the opposite.  One might think that hardened criminals would consider themselves above trying to sleep their way to the top.  They were not, and Levi could not even count the number of times  some young thug with a busted lip and blood on his hands had made a pass at him.  Nor could he recall precisely how many times he'd accepted, and making those cocky mouths plead with him was satisfying in ways Levi never expected.

But this kid.  Fuck.  He wasn't a weakling, that was clear.  His chest was broad, his arms muscled,  and when Levi had tugged on his belt there was the unmistakable feel of a six pack hidden beneath his shirt.  But his hands were soft, and gentle, and those bright eyes had not seen the kind of violence that made up Levi's life.   Eren was _pure,_ and all those earlier thoughts of tainting this boy fell away, replaced by the strange urge to protect him.  Keep him safe.  Wrap him up in blankets if it was cold outside, make sure he stayed out of the rain.  Levi found himself wondering how much money Eren made, if it was enough to pay his bills.  Whether he was eating enough, or if he got much sleep at night.

Only realized he was still standing there, staring, when Eren cleared his throat.

"Levi?"

Oh.  Right.  He was supposed to be fucking this kid's brains out, not thinking about his rent.

"Wait here a sec."

Levi walked quickly out of the room, navigating the empty hallways, ducking into a storage room a few doors down from his own.  There was a desk there, and Jean was nothing if not predictable with his liaisons at the workplace.  Sure enough, tucked into the back of the top drawer was a handful of condoms and packets of lubricant.  Levi snagged a couple, tucking them into his pocket before heading back.  He locked the door behind him, and when he saw Eren sitting there on his couch, he knew he'd never be able to look at that fucking furniture again and keep a straight face.

All he would see was this boy sprawled out on it, tanned and naked and shivering.  Levi was eager to imprint that sight into his brain, and he sat down next to Eren and tugged the brunet across his lap.  He came willingly, albeit a bit awkwardly, looking everywhere but Levi's face.  Eyes darting around, body tense, but when Levi slid his hands up Eren's thighs, he was rewarded with harsh exhale.  Levi ran his thumbs in slow circles, edging higher each time, stopping just short of where Eren's shaft was jutting out, swollen through his jeans.  The brunet kept his hands to himself, seemed unsure where to put them.  _Anywhere._

_Put them anywhere, as long as it's on me._

"Eren.  Look at me."  It took a few moments, but eventually the boy met Levi's eyes, a fresh blush painting those cheeks.  Levi reached up and brushed the hair out of his face, feeling warm inside in places that had not felt heat in years.  "Christ.  You're beautiful."

He did not give the kid time to react, just slipped his hand around the back of Eren's neck and tugged him down.  Gently, more gently than Levi thought he was capable of, he brought their mouths together.  Eren's lips were hot on his own, and tasted like cinnamon and coffee.  He melted against Levi, no longer aware of himself.  Eren's fingers found their way into his inky black locks, threading there almost painfully tight, and moaned into Levi's mouth with a voice that was already desperate.  The kid was clumsy, lips not meeting Levi's quite where they should, teeth scraping in the wrong places.  But as Levi licked his way into the heat of Eren's kiss, he found he did not care.

He would teach this boy all he needed to know.

Levi sat up, flipping them over until Eren was pressed into the couch, straddling his thighs as he began to work the brunet's belt off.  Still kissing him all the while, his throat, his jaw, his cheek, painting his lips messily across Eren's skin.  The kid tossed his hoodie to the floor, moving to remove his shirt before hesitating.  He reached out to put his hands on Levi's sides, sliding them up slowly-

Stopping abruptly, jerking them back as though he'd been burned.  Levi realized why immediately, sitting up and shucking his suit jacket to reveal a holster, complete with two handguns. 

"Shit.  Forgot about those, I'm sorry."

He unbuckled his chest holster, leaving the pair of guns to dangle as he deposited them gently behind the couch.  Eren looked at him, wide eyed, glancing towards the back of the sofa and then to Levi, who grinned down at the brunet as he pulled a couple of pocket knives out of his pants and tossed them, as well.

"Having second thoughts?" Levi waited on an answer.  Maybe now this brat would realize what a horrible decision this was and run, as he should have to begin with.  After a few moment, though, he shook his head, those big hands of his at Levi's waist again, moving unimpeded up towards his chest.  Levi should argue, probably.  Tell Eren all the reasons why he shouldn't be here, spread out beneath a mobster, half undressed and eager.

But those hands felt good on Levi, and he didn't try and stop the brunet when they started working the buttons of his shirt.  Just kissed him again, grinding their lengths together as he finished removing the boy's belt, making his whole body arch up off the couch.  God, his reactions were so fucking _perfect,_ and he was impatient with Eren's fumbling.  Needed to feel their skin slide together, and he batted the kid's hands away to rip his shirt off over his head.  Took Eren's off too, eyes dancing with mischief as he looked down at him.  He'd been right about the six pack, a trail of dark hair disappearing into his open jeans.  Eren's nipples were brown, and Levi wanted to taste them, suddenly.

He took one into his mouth, licking slow circles around it as he eased a hand down into Eren's clothes.  Under the waistband of his boxers to palm his arousal, and suddenly every inch of the brunet was strung tight.  Not with desire, either.  Eren was nervous, or afraid, or unsure.  Something Levi couldn't have, and he left his hand where it was but moved back to look at Eren's face.  He was biting his lip, eyes wrenched shut, and it was a few moments before they opened to catch Levi staring.

"What's wrong?  Want me to stop?"  The kid looked suddenly terrified, stuttering over his words.

"N-No, no, don't!  It's just, I... I haven't... I never...."  He sighed, cutting his eyes away from Levi.  "I've never done this before.  With someone else."

Oh.  Fuck.  This boy was a goddamned _virgin,_ and Levi was about to fuck him on a couch in some office after threatening to beat his face in.  _Jesus fucking Christ...._   No.  No, no no.  He started to pull his hand out of Eren's jeans, only to have the brunet latch onto his wrist, holding it in place.  

"Wait, wait, _please,_ I'm legal, I'm twenty-two, I just-"

"Fuck, I know how old you are, kid!  I can't... Jesus.  I can't take your _virginity_ on some shitty couch in my office when I was ready to break your legs fifteen minutes ago!"

"Why not?!?"  Levi furrowed his brows incredulously, tugging on his hand to no avail.

"The FUCK you mean, why not?  I'm an asshole, but I'm not some fuckin' monster, Eren!"  

"No, it's fine, it's okay, I swear!  Please, keep going.  Please, I-"

"Listen, I can't just-"

" _Please._ "  Levi stopped struggling against Eren's hold, looking down into eyes that were now full of tears.  "It's just, I like you a lot, and I've wanted this for a long time.  I know I don't really know you that well but I'm never going to get another chance with you like this.  I'm old enough, and I can decide for myself, please just-"  His voice broke, though those tears didn't fall from his eyes, Eren looked broken all the same.  He released his grip on Levi's wrist, pulling both hands up to cover his face.  "I'm sorry.  I'll leave, I'll just go home, I-"

Levi kissed Eren's knuckles, once, twice, three times, until his fingers spread open to show green eyes peeking out from behind them.

"I can't let you do that.  Not like this.  How about, I kiss you _real nice,_ "  Levi kneaded his hand against Eren's now mostly softened arousal, making it jerk under the touch.  "And then take you out somewhere.  Eat dinner.  You get off work early on Sundays, right?  We can go then, too.  Or you can come sit with me at the cafe sometimes, 'stead of staring all creepy-like.  Let me do this right." Eren looked torn between lust and confusion, hips rutting into Levi's touch even as is brows furrowed.

"You- You wanna date?" Levi shrugged, sliding his hand up and down the brunet's cock lazily, watching him squirm.

"You don't? I mean, I ain't the greatest guy in the world to shack up with, don't get me wrong-"

"No, no, I do! I just, didn't think you'd want to! I didn't know-"

Levi sat Eren up, turning him into the couch and sinking to his knees between the brunet's feet. Tugging Eren's shaft out of his jeans, nuzzling against it with his cheek.

"You could fill books with the things you don't know about, kid."

He took Eren into his mouth, holding his gaze the entire time, the boy's jaw falling wide. Those hands were in his hair again, painfully tight as Eren thrust into his mouth, probably unintentionally. Levi always hated it when guys did that, pulled his hair and fucked his mouth. If he was being generous enough to suck them off, the least they could do is have some fucking manners.

Eren could tug those strands and thrust into his throat all day long, and Levi would not bat an eye. _Why, though?_ He didn't know, and as the boy began to make beautiful, wretched sounds, he found, once again, that he didn't care. Pulled off long enough to tease, palming Eren's sack as he did so.

"See, you're still playing out of tune. Need to work on that."

He swallowed Eren down again, tongue swirling around his crown, delving into his leaking slit before taking him deeper. Levi bobbed up and down, one of Eren's hands sliding down to cup his jaw, stroking his face affectionately. _Oh, God._ This kid was getting his first blow job, yet still being so fucking sweet. It made Levi's guts twist up inside him, and he hollowed his cheeks and sucked in earnest. Sank even further onto Eren's cock, humming around the length.

"Haah... fuck, Levi..." Levi hummed again in answer, questioning, but he didn't really need a response. Eren's muscles tensing, hips jutting up, back arching.... He was close, hurtling towards the edge, and Levi wanted to throw him over. Moved faster, tongue slick on the veins of Eren's shaft, moisture leaking from his mouth. "G-gonna come. Fuck, fuck LEVI!"

Levi didn't move away, just worked him through it, swallowing all he had to give. Eren's fingers twisted in his hair, one leg coming up off the ground as he writhed under Levi's mouth, making debauched sounds that would haunt the man's dreams. The kid's breathing was ragged and harsh, and when Levi finally pulled back, the sight was breathtaking.

His hair was everywhere, somehow, pupils blown wide, eyes shining. Gasping for air, cheeks red, and that blush went all the way down to his chest in spite of his tanned skin. Eren looked dazed, fucked out and blissful, a stupidly beautiful smile on his face. Levi found himself smiling back as he wiped his mouth, feeling more accomplished than he had in quite some time.

Then Eren's face began to twist into something panicked, and Levi could hear a strange sound with each rise and fall of the brunet's chest. A wheezing sound, his breathing not evening out but instead coming faster. He made a motion with his hand, pointing towards his hoodie, and it was a few terrifyingly long moments of rifling through pockets before Levi found what the boy was asking for.

Inhaler. He needed his inhaler, because Levi had blown him straight into an asthma attack. Eren pulled the cap off the base, putting it to his lips and depressing the little canister, breathing in deep. He did this again, holding the medicine in his lungs for a bit before exhaling, taking a few tentative breaths. Levi didn't realize he was holding his own breath until Eren reached out to touch his face.

"Hey, I'm fine. It's okay." He let out all his air in a rush, head falling forward for a moment.

"Jesus, fuck, kid. You scared me." Eren smirked down at him, face still euphoric.

"Thought you were gonna have to get rid of my body?" Levi crawled up onto the couch, tugging Eren against him, nuzzling into his hair.

"You're too cute to throw into the river."

"Uhhh... thanks? I guess?" They lay there in silence for awhile, before Eren nudged Levi in the chest.

"Hmmm?"

"Ahh... You want me to... take care of you, too?" He sounded so fucking uncertain, Levi felt his own lungs clenching up in his chest. Shook his head, squeezing the kid a bit tighter.

"Nah. Not yet. Let me work for it."

Once Eren's legs were working again, they pulled on their clothes, Levi rifling off questions about what kind of food he liked to eat. Nerves crept into him, ice in his veins.

He could suck this kid off without missing a beat, but taking him to dinner was terrifying, somehow. Levi only ever ate out with people in the organization, and it was always a miserable affair, everyone arguing and glaring and at least one plate smashed against the wall.

When they stepped into the elevator, Eren reached out and took Levi's hand, and he stared down at their entwined fingers for the second time that day, trying to come to terms with how bizarre it was.

No dishes would be broken tonight, but Levi was already in pieces. If he never got put back together, well...

That was probably all right.


	3. First Movement

"What?" 

Levi blinked at Eren's slightly exasperated tone, glancing around like an idiot, as though there was someone else the kid could be talking to.

"What do ya mean, what?"  Eren put his fork down, clearly torn between annoyance and shyness, wiping at his face with a napkin.

"You're staring at me.  It's weird."  

Levi furrowed his brows, purposely forcing his eyes down to his plate, frowning.  Had he been staring?  He wasn't used to eating with someone he actually enjoyed looking at, and now that Eren mentioned it, yeah.  Levi had probably been ogling him a bit.  But it was strangely satisfying to watch him eat, in a way that was far from reserved.  Usually when Levi went to dinner, there was very little food actually consumed.  His family pushed it around their plates, picked at it, bitched about the taste.  Drank the wine, of course.  When they did eat it was in precise little bites, neat and unhurried, all the time in the world.  Eren shoveled food into his mouth as though he was starving, and it was probably stress more than anything else making him do so.  A wave of guilt washed over Levi, realizing how shitty of a day it had really been for the kid.  He'd been thrown into the back of a car at gunpoint, tied up and gagged with a hood over his head, then dragged into a room and tossed down at Levi's feet.  Levi, who'd threatened to make Eren bleed if he didn't tell him the truth.

Levi, who'd gone to his knees and sucked the boy off not fifteen minutes later, his first blow job no less, then asked the kid out to dinner.  _Jesus fucking Christ._   Still, he couldn't let Eren get away with any complaints about him staring.  Especially not after the boy had spent months following him around like a lost puppy, watching Levi on a daily basis.  A slow smile crept over his face, and he pinned the brunet under his gaze, letting his eyes go predatory in a way he knew would make anyone squirm.

"What, is turnabout not fair play?  You dish it out, but you can't take it?"  Eren's eyes went wide, and he flushed just slightly as he stuttered over his words.

"No, that's-  I mean... I didn't-"  Levi interrupted him, his smile going crooked and playful, hair falling down over his face.

"What if I like staring at you?"

Eren's mouth snapped shut instantly, cheeks going brighter still, and he picked his fork and started eating again without another word.  Levi chuckled darkly, taking a bite of his own food and trying to get his shit together.  _Fuck,_ it was so easy to get under this boy's skin, Levi almost felt guilty for it.  Almost.  Levi replayed all the times he'd noticed Eren's gaze on him, thinking him an enemy with every glance the kid threw his way.  Now that he knew it was not animosity but desire behind those bright eyes, Levi saw his memories in a different light.  Eren walked miles out of his way every day, just to set his sights on Levi.  Ate at a cafe that was probably well out of his price range at least once a week so he could be closer to the man.  Loitered around at the park, hoping to get a glimpse of him, even in passing.  Sure, Levi had people in the organization who pursued him before, trying to get into his pants, or get him into theirs.  It was always sexual, though, and once they'd scratched their itch and figured out Levi was not going to promote them just for their cocksucking skills, they gave up pretty quickly.

But Eren hadn't even _spoken_ to Levi.  Didn't know who he was, or the power he wielded.  Asked nothing of him, expected nothing.  

The kid was happy just looking at him, and Levi didn't know exactly how that made him feel.  Itchy in places he could not scratch.  As though his clothes were too tight suddenly, and he loosened his tie a little more than necessary before risking a look at Eren.  When the brunet finally looked up caught him staring again Levi just grinned unabashedly, and Eren's anxiety seemed to melt away.  So Levi asked about his life, even though he knew more about it already than Eren would probably be comfortable with.  He could rattle off the boy's work hours.  His food preferences, his height, his weight.  A couple of text messages and Levi could have his driver's license number and social security information.

He'd seen his Facebook page, his Instagram.  It was all pictures of instruments, violins and pianos and guitars, along with a few of the two kids he lived with and a selfie here and there.  A little mushroom headed blond and a brunette girl Levi had sort of thought he was dating, with how much she hung on the kid in the pictures. No shots of any food he'd cooked, thank Christ, or Levi might've had to break his arms back at the office on sheer principle.

Even though he knew everything there was about the kid he listened without having to feign interest, because Eren's life sounded so much better in that voice of his than it did on the papers Levi had flipped through.  Eren got animated when he spoke about music, lighting up in ways that were quite frankly unfair.  Eren gestured with his hands, and his words came too fast, and Levi had a hard time paying attention to exactly what he was saying because he looked so fucking _alive_.  It was distracting, and Levi was lucky that he made Eren nervous, because otherwise the brunet would have noticed just how overwhelmed he really was.  Levi felt like an idiot, letting some kid he barely knew get him all flustered this way.  He knew he hid it well, he was good at concealing his emotions, but the very idea of someone getting under his skin so fast was unnerving.

Rattled though he might be, Levi never lied to himself, and he wanted this kid something fierce.  When Eren offered to get him off earlier, even Levi had been surprised by his own refusal.  _'Let me work for it.'_   He _never_ worked for it, ever, especially not since taking his place beneath his uncle in the organization.  Guys fell into his lap.  Fawned over him.  Seduced him.  They worked for him, not the other way around, but looking at Eren's messy hair, teeth sunk into that wide bottom lip, glancing up at Levi from underneath his eyelashes...

Levi wanted to earn that mouth.  Those hands, those eyes, that kiss.  Wanted to deserve it, and not just because Eren had been pining after him for longer than he'd even known the boy existed, but because he'd done right by him.  So Levi let him pick a restaurant, and listened to everything he had to say as though his life depended on it.   Levi glared Eren into submission when the kid tried to pay for his own meal, and opened the car door for him, ignoring how the brunet rolled his eyes at the gesture.

Kuchel Ackerman raised a fucking _gentleman,_ God rest her soul, and even if Levi put bullets into people from time to time he would treat his date like gold.  He continued to babble as Levi drove him home, mostly about Sasha and Armin and their classes at university.  Sasha's job at the bar, and how much he hated her working there, leaving so late at night to walk home.  The bar was in a bad neighborhood and he lamented that he couldn't always manage to to get there in time to walk home with her.  Levi found fondness swelling through him at the idea of this boy staying up until two or three in the morning and wandering through dark streets just to escort his friend home safely.  Armin did not work apparently, could not keep his grades up enough to maintain his scholarship while holding down a job, and even though his grandfather sent him some money each month they struggled to make ends met.  

Eren was so open, and he never shut his mouth, but it did not grate on Levi's nerves as it should have.  He found himself honestly curious about what the kid had to say, and when they pulled up to his house Levi was sad to hear him fall silent.  Eren wisely didn't mention the fact that Levi had not asked his address before taking him home, though it hung heavy in the air between them.  Just glanced over at Levi with a shy expression, eyes darting around, undoubtedly remembering what they'd done together earlier.  His gaze lingered on Levi's mouth for a moment before pulling up, and he smiled as he opened his door.

"Thanks for dinner.  And uh... everything else.  Giving me a chance, or whatever."  Levi shook his head, killing the engine and climbing out of the vehicle.  Eren got out as well, eying him strangely as he walked around to stand next to the brunet.

"Nah.  It's nothin'.  Thanks for going with me."  Eren tapped the screen of his phone to check the time, looking suddenly unsure.

"Uhhh... what are you doing?  I mean..."  The brunet looked at his house, window lit up brightly, then back at Levi.  "I had a great time, and I really like you and all, but my roommate is still up, and my place is a fucking mess right now, and-"  Levi reached up to cup Eren's jaw, putting a thumb over his lips to silence him, smiling all the while.

"Relax.  I'm just walkin' you to your door."  He let his hand fall as confusion painted the boy's features, followed by disbelief.

"You... you're serious?  You're gonna walk me to my door?"  Levi nodded, laying his palm flat against the small of Eren's back and urging him forward.  He went willingly, though still looking at Levi as though the man was crazy.  "Is this the fifties?  Or is this some kind of gangster thing?  People don't walk their dates to the door anymore."  Levi shrugged, smirking, and he could not remember the last time he'd smiled so much.  It felt strange on his face, muscles unused to doing anything other than scowl.

"I'm a scholar and a gentleman."  

"You briefly considered the possibility of throwing my corpse into a river earlier."  Eren's voice was wry, and even though he was joking Levi fought down a cringe at the words.

"The necessities of life do intrude on my manners sometimes."

"You were going to break my legs because you thought I was an informant."

"You let me blow you and went out ta dinner with me afterwards.  What does that say 'bout you?"  Eren opened his mouth to protest, then closed it, sighing before giving a resigned nod.

"You make a valid point.  But I still say it's weird you want to walk me to the door."  They had reached Eren's porch then, but before he could climb the steps Levi grabbed his hand.  The one that held his phone, and Levi squeezed it slightly, eyes eating Eren alive.

"Gimmie your number."  Eren cocked his head, shooting Levi that look again, like he'd lost his mind.

"Pretty sure you have it already."  Levi did, it was true.  The kid's number was written down in a file somewhere with all his other information, but Levi didn't want to get it from a profile his lackeys had put together.  He wanted Eren to give it to him willingly, of his own volition.  So he shook his head, and squeezed the brunet's hand a little tighter.

"Nah.  I need you to give it to me on your own.  If...  If you want."  After Levi's words sunk in Eren's lips quirked up in a smile, and he handed over his cell.  There was no screen lock, and Levi wondered at the innocence in that.  Nothing Eren needed to hide, and Levi dialed his own number and pressed send, feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket.  When it went to voicemail, an automated voice telling him to leave a message, Levi held the phone up to Eren's mouth.  Whispered low, in a voice no one would argue with, eyes hooded and dark.  "Tell me goodnight, Eren."  Eren blinked a few times, and Levi was pretty sure if it had been bright enough he would've seen the boy's face flush.

"Uhh... G-Goodnight, Levi."  

Levi ended the call, dropping the phone into Eren's hoodie pocket and stepping close to him.  He leaned in slow, standing up on his toes with eyes watching Eren's all the while, giving him time to back away.  That wide, pink mouth turned towards Levi instead,  Eren's tongue darting out to trace over his bottom lip.  He watched the kid's breath hitch, adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed hard. Then Levi pressed his mouth to Eren's cheek, never blinking, letting his lips linger there long enough to feel the heat rise in Eren's skin.  He pulled back finally, reaching up to run his fingers through that wild brown hair, then took a step away. Grinned, teasing and amused, and his voice was rough and soft all at once.

"Goodnight, Eren."

Levi left without another word, climbing into his car and waving before he drove away.

....

Eren stood on his porch step, one hand on his cheek, staring like an idiot at his empty yard.  As soon as Levi's car drove out of sight, the door swung open behind him and arms flew around his neck.  Sasha was screeching loud enough to wake their neighbors, and she shook Eren from side to side violently enough that he almost lost his footing.

"AHHHHHHHH!  EREEEEENNNN!  That's the guy, right?  Sexy ass businessman?  Savior of puppies?  Clark goddamned Kent?"  He nodded, face splitting into a grin as the events of the night finally sunk in, and he let himself be pulled in wild circles by his roommate without complaint.

"Yeah, that's-"  Sasha moved in front of him, putting one hand on each side of his face and squealing again.

"AHHHHHH!  Eren!  That's so fucking awesome!  What happened?"  She reached down to paw absently at his crotch, and Eren batted her hand away.  "Did you grow some balls?  Are they down here?"  He laughed, shoving her away before running inside and slamming the door in her face.  She followed after him, tackling him onto the couch and tickling him, shouting all the while.  "Tell meeeee!  TELL MEEEEEE!" They ended up in the floor, rolling around and struggling to breathe through their laughter.

In the end Eren refused to tell her, because Armin was not home from studying with Annie yet, and he would be pissed if Sasha found out before him.  He finally managed to escape by taking a shower, though if he hadn't locked the door she would've followed him in anyway, firing off questions through the shower curtain.  When he laid down that night to sleep his cheeks hurt from smiling.

Then Levi texted him 'sweet dreams', and he buried his face in a pillow to hide from himself.

....

There was a knock on the front door, and considering that Sasha would sleep through a car crash as well as Armin's late night study session, Eren dragged himself out of bed to answer it.  He did not bother to put on a shirt, or fix his hair, or try to look presentable in any way.  Whoever thought it was a good idea to wake him up at nine on his day off could deal with the consequences.  As he neared the door Eren saw that Armin had woken up anyway, blond hair sticking out in ten different directions, eyes half closed.  He gave Eren a questioning look, _who the fuck is on our porch at nine on a Saturday,_ but the brunet just shrugged and unlocked the deadbolts before opening the  door.

He could not see a person there, at first.  Just a giant mass of flowers, at least two dozen bright orange roses surrounded by smaller flowers Eren could not identify, all in a black glass vase.  Then the flowers lowered just slightly, revealing a man behind them with an apron and matching hat, proclaiming him an employee of Trost Floral Delicacies. _What in the fuck?_

"I have a delivery for a Mr. Eren Jaeger?"  Armin was standing next to him now, brows raised, wide awake all of a sudden.  Eren felt all the fuzziness of sleep fall away from him too, and after receiving an elbow from Armin, he stuttered out an answer.

"Uh, yeah.  That's me.  Do I need to sign something?"  

A small tablet was thrust at him, and he used his finger to sign the display.  The bouquet was handed over then, along with a box he had not noticed the man holding.  They were heavier than Eren expected, and he absently wondered what was inside of the box as he struggled not to drop the vase of roses.

"Have a nice day!"  

The man was gone then, and Eren stepped back inside and shut the door against the chill of the morning, looking at the flowers as though they might bite him.  Armin reached over and snatched the card nestled in the blooms before Eren had a chance to, reading it aloud with the air of a teacher who'd caught his students passing notes in class.

" 'To Eren Jaeger.  I can't think of any cheesy shit on the spot.  Cut me some slack.  I hope you're not allergic to flowers or chocolate or strawberries.  If so, I promise I'll visit you in the hospital.  Don't die before you get laid, all right?  Yours truly, Levi Ackerman.' "  Armin took the box from Eren then, opening it up to reveal a pile of chocolate covered strawberries arranged into a heart shape.  The blond shoved one in his mouth quickly, eying the hallway that led to Sasha's room like she would sense the food somehow, even as she slept.  Then he turned to Eren, a mother who had discovered her child's stash of drugs or pornography, with eyes that demanded answers.  He spoke around a mouthful of berry, no less intimating somehow, and Eren wondered how he pulled it off. "What the fuck is going on?  Who is Levi Ackerman? Why'd he send you an asston of flowers?"

Eren couldn't really answer either of those questions. Not without some thought. So he, too, shoved a strawberry in his mouth and fought down a blush.

Levi sent him _flowers._ Holy shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Speak to me. Feedback and such. You know you want to.


	4. Cadence

It was rare that Uncle Kenny actually assed himself to come down to Levi's office and talk shop in person, so he really should have been paying attention. Someone had been moving product through the harbor, and though they'd finally pinpointed exactly what shipping company was being used, they weren't sure who was actually responsible. That harbor belonged to the Ackermans, body and soul, down to the goddamned fish that swam through the bay. No one dared to look at it, let alone try and bring their drugs or black market goods in on the ships that docked there. One of their rivals was getting overconfident, and Kenny had been willing to turn a blind eye when it was a couple dozen kilos of coke or heroin, but they'd evidently just been testing the waters. Eld and his boys had gone down to the docks after being alerted by one of their informants and found a hundred kilos of powder and a dozen crates of automatic weapons.

One did not bring in guns through one of Kenny Ackermans fucking harbors. They just _didn't._

Now Kenny was talking about shipping manifests, and delivery schedules, and which guys they should send down there to intercept the next batch of contraband. Someone would show up looking for their drugs and weapons and find Levi's men there instead, waiting to have a nice long conversation with them. One that started with fists and ended in either words, or bodies. Normally Levi would be all over it, but he was only half listening, tapping his phone to life every time it vibrated on his desk to see who was texting him.

Not Eren, never Eren, and he sighed and let the screen flash dark only to look up and see Kenny and Jean glaring. The latter crossed his arms, face wrinkling up in annoyance.

"I mean no disrespect, but what the fuck, boss?" Levi sucked air through his teeth, staring at Jean long enough to have him squirming. Or it would have, if he wasn't immune to Levi's glares after being on the receiving end of them for so many years. Instead the brunet just looked vaguely irritated.

"Certainly sounded disrespectful, you fuck." 

"It's sorta a knee jerk phrase when you might catch a bullet for pissing someone off. I do mean disrespect, though. You been looking at your phone every five minutes all goddamned morning. All day yesterday, too, sighing and glaring and generally fucking miserable to be around. The fuck's the matter with you? We're finally moving in on these assholes. Ever since we let that kid go Friday night you're all distracted. You still worrying about that guy? I thought we decided he wasn't a threat." Levi scowled, glancing over at Kenny and inclining his head toward Jean.

"You gonna let this horse face fuck talk to your nephew that way?" Levi was not serious, but trying to divert attention away from himself, or any mention of Eren. Kenny was not having it.

"Yeah, when my nephew's being a shit head and no one else will call him out on it. Also I never really understood the horse face thing? Kid doesn't look like a horse to me. Anyway. Somebody sending you nudes or something?" Levi smirked, picking up his phone and holding it out to Kenny, knowing the bastard couldn't unlock it anyway.

"Why? You wanna see 'em?" Kenny waved at the cell dismissively, pulling a face.

"Nah, I'll pass thanks. I know what kinda nudes you like. I don't even want to look at my own dick, let alone someone else's." Levi shrugged, tucking the phone in his pocket, fighting to urge to check it when it vibrated again in his hand.

"Probably because your dick is old and wrinkled and disgusting." Kenny laughed, sitting down in the chair in front of Levi's desk, cocking his head to the side. He gave his nephew a long look, one Levi had learned to dread. Kenny was picking him apart without trying, learning secrets Levi hadn't even known he was keeping. Figuring out things that should be impossible to know with a single glance.

"You told me you brought that kid in on Friday, the one who'd been hanging around a lot. Said he was just a local guy who works around here. Having second thoughts about it? We need to drag him up here again? I can talk to him myself, I'm sure-"

"NO." 

Levi's voice was too loud in the room, too sudden, and Jean and Kenny both frowned at him in unison. They shared a look with each other, _what the fuck was that,_ and then turned back towards Levi expectantly, waiting on him to continue. He cringed, because _shit,_ he hadn't wanted to have this conversation with them so early in the day. But it was Tuesday, and he and Jean would be heading to the cafe for lunch soon. Eren might show up, and it would be better for everyone if Jean was expecting it. Otherwise he'd probably say something stupid, and Levi would have to punch him in the fucking nose, and he didn't want to beat someone half to death in front of Eren.

Not on their second date, anyway. That was more anniversary territory, really.

Levi traced the edge of his phone where it sat heavy in his pocket, looking at the floor instead of his uncle, cringing before he spoke.

"I mighta taken that kid out on a date after you and 'kasa left on Friday." When he glanced up Kenny and Jean were both wide eyed. Then Jean started laughing, loudly, and Levi threw a pen at his face. "Shut the fuck up, how's that funny?" Jean was still howling, clutching at his stomach, breathlessly amused.

"Oh my God. We bring some pretty boy in to interrogate, you decide he's not a threat, and your immediate response is to fuck him. Why am I not surprised?" Levi flung a stapler this time, which Jean dodged, letting it roll noisily across the floor. Why did he even _have_ a fucking stapler on his desk? Levi had never stapled anything in his entire adult life.

"Who says I fucked him, don't talk about him like that. It's disrespectful." The two men looked at Levi like he'd grown another head, Jean's laughter drying up instantly, voice incredulous.

"If you didn't fuck him, what did you do? He fucked you? Didn't seem the type." 

"Kirstein, I swear to Christ, I will fuckin' hit you. I took him out ta dinner, took him home. That was it." Jean's mouth hung open, and Levi idly wondered if he could throw something into it before it closed. Maybe a coin.

He could make a wish.

Finally Kenny broke his silence, amusement laced through his tone.

"You took him to dinner, took him home, and then... left? Nothing else?" Fuck, Levi hated those guys so much. But he was clueless as to how to date someone normally, and Jean had managed to win over Marco, somehow. In a fairly normal way, considering they were both mafia underlings. Their relationship was a little weird, but it worked for them. Maybe if they could stop being assholes for five minutes, they could help him out.

"I uh... sent him flowers, too. On Saturday. But he hasn't called me or anything, so maybe I fucked it up. Freaked him out. I don't really know how to do this shit." Jean couldn't stop being an asshole, though, and Levi should've known better.

"You sent him flowers?" 

"Fuck off, Jean. Repeating everything I say in the form of a question is not helping, all right? I like this kid, and your dumb ass is probably going to be around him sooner or later, so I'd appreciate if you weren't a total fuckin' douchebag about this." 

"Okay, okay, son, you've been checking your phone all this time, what? Waiting on him to text you or something?" Kenny only called him 'son' when he was feeling especially affectionate, and Levi tried to force down his annoyance at the question. Glared at his lap. He could be one suave motherfucker when Eren was standing in front of him, but as soon as the kid was gone all his confidence fell away, leaving crippling doubt in its wake. Without Eren right there, blushing and awkward and boosting his ego, Levi was sort of pathetic.

"Somethin' like that." 

"You ever think maybe he's waiting on you to do the same thing? He's a nerdy little music shop employee, you're a drug lord. The kid might be a little intimidated, Levi." Kenny was right, and Levi knew it. Didn't know how to get around Eren's nervousness and his own all at the same time. 

"He's always at the cafe on Tuesday anyway. He'll probably be there today too, boss man." Kenny grinned at Jean's words, looking predatory all of a sudden.

"Oooooh, I'm going too. I wanna meet this little shit who's got Levi all tied up in knots." Levi glared at him, shaking his head, voice brooking no argument.

"You ain't going."

"Oh yes, I am."

.............

Kenny did not, in fact, go with them to the cafe. Mostly because Levi threatened to kneecap the man with his forty-five, and Kenny wasn't too sure he was joking. Especially after Levi drew on him, thumbing his safety off, tongue shoved into his cheek as if in question. _Are we really doing this?_

It wasn't as though Levi hadn't done it before. Kenny had seen it with his own eyes, in fact.

Jean and Levi sat at the same table they always did, the latter ordering tea while the former had coffee. When the waitress returned with their drinks and asked if they were ready to order Levi told her to give them a few minutes, earning a vicious look from Jean as she walked away.

"I'm starving, what'd you do that for?" Levi glanced around without really meaning to, wondering if Eren had already come and gone. They'd shown up a bit later than usual, after all, considering how long it took to convince Kenny his safety was at risk if he tried to tag along. Jean realized exactly why he was being deprived of food and rolled his eyes. "Oh my God. Did you at least text the guy? Do you know if he's coming?" 

"I told you that you didn't need to come with me, did I not? I ain't helpless, Jean."

"Yeah, I know, but Kenny don't like it, and I'd've had to listen to him bitch until you came back. Plus if you're gonna be trying to get in this guys pants, I should probably apologize for tossing him in the back of a car and putting a bag over his head, right? Make sure there's no hard feelings." 

" 'Sorry for gagging you, and tying you up, and threatening to pull out your fingernails, but it's all water under the bridge, eh?' Good luck with that." Jean grinned, downing most of his coffee in one swig, shrugging.

"Well I mean you were gonna break his nose, and it seems to have worked out okay for you."

"I don't see how ya figure that. Little shit's been coming here every week for months without fail, one date with me and now he's nowhere to be seen. Think I struck out." 

As if on cue Levi looked behind Jean to see Eren walking down the sidewalk towards the outdoor dining area of the cafe, pausing a dozen feet away, looking uncertain. When the kid finally caught Levi staring he brought his hand up to his mouth, biting one of his nails, obviously nervous. Levi smiled at him, something suggestive and dark, and when he jerked his head in invitation Eren stumbled over his feet. Caught himself on a table, almost knocking it to the ground in the process, blushing fiercely as the people dining outside all turned to stare. _Oh, God._ Levi was fucking done for. Jean caught his expression and looking over his shoulder, shaking his head and whispering.

"You look like a goddamned schoolgirl boss." Levi was about to respond, something scathing and harsh, but then Eren was there. Standing awkwardly next to their table, which only had two chairs, both of which were occupied. He gave a little wave to Jean before turning to Levi, gnawing at his lip.

"Ah, hi. Is it, ah... Okay if I join you?" Levi reached out and took Eren's hand, pulling it up to his face and pressing a kiss to the kid's knuckles. He watched Eren's cheeks go pink again, even as Jean groaned.

" 'Course it is. Jean was just leaving. Weren't you, Jean?" Levi wasn't looking at Jean, like he didn't even exist, but he heard his chair scrape against the pavement.

"Was I, then?" Levi gave Jean a pointed stare, unblinking, as Eren seemed to shrink in on himself.

"You were." The brunet spoke up then, waving his hands around a bit, though it might've been mostly to pull free of Levi's grasp.

"Oh, he doesn't have to leave, I don't want to intrude, I just-" Levi stood up, walking around the table to pull out the chair for Eren, waiting for him to sit. Still Eren hesitated to move, looking between Jean and Levi, a deer in headlights. Levi inclined his head towards Jean, sounding a bit exasperated.

"Eren, I see this asshole all day, everyday. He can fuck off for awhile. I'm sure he'd be glad to get away from me." Eren looked back at Jean, and whatever he saw there must have been an affirmation of some sort, because he sat down in the chair Levi offered without further argument. Levi took his own seat, beckoning the waitress over so they could order. Still Jean did not leave, scratching at the back of his head and standing a few feet away, turning towards Eren.

"Uh, Eren, was it?" Eren looked skeptical all of a sudden, eying Jean suspiciously.

"Yeah?" 

"I just wanted to apologize for the other day. Just following orders and all, but still. Might be seein' a lot of you, don't want things to be weird. We good?" 

"Y-Yeah, sure. It uh..." Those bright eyes flitted over to Levi, then back to Jean again. "It all worked out. Don't worry about it." Jean patted Eren on the shoulder, ignoring Levi's annoyed expression as he did so.

"All right. Good. Go easy on him, yeah? He's a mess." 

He walked away without another word to go inside the cafe, Levi glaring daggers at his back. When he turned back to face Eren the brunet was smiling, and Levi almost didn't notice the waitress standing there waiting. He ordered for both of them, requesting what Eren always ate without missing a beat, but if the kid was bothered by it he didn't mention it. Just waited until the server walked away and grinned wider, pleased with himself for some reason Levi couldn't quite figure out.

"So. You're a mess? Is that in general, or something I can take credit for?" Levi smiled in spite of himself, straightening his suit jacket and loosening his tie a bit. A nervous gesture, though no one would think so unless they knew Levi pretty well. It was only after he'd done it that he realized Eren probably saw it for what it was, after watching the man from afar for so long.

"You're a little shit, is what ya are. Look at that fucking face, you're so smug." Eren looked down at his lap, still grinning, toying with his hands.

"Well you didn't call me, or text me besides that one time Friday night, I figured you had second thoughts about me or something." Levi waited until Eren raised his eyes, and put on his most predatory expression, eyes lit up with mischief. Pitched his voice low, licking his lips before speaking.

"Oh, I've had a lot of different thoughts about you, Eren. I can tell you about them in detail later, if you'd like." 

Eren blinked, eyes falling away briefly as he fought down his embarrassment. Then they came back up looking steely and resolved, and Levi shifted beneath their weight in a way he had not done in years. Not since he'd fucked up on a job and brought home corpses instead of cash, and then it had been Kenny's stare making him squirm. Not some pretty boy barely out of his teens who looked like he'd catch the spiders in his house and let them go in the yard. His voice was solid, too, made of the same metal as his stare, and Levi wondered where this guy had come from. One who asked questions that he did not dare ignore.

"So why didn't you invite me yourself today? Or call, or text? I was sure you'd decided you didn't want anything to do with me. I kind of wanted to throw up the whole way here." 

Lies and half truths came naturally to his mind, as they always had in his line of work. Levi could rarely be honest with people outside of the organization, after all. There were a thousand things he could tell Eren, any of which would placate his concern, soothe his worry. But Levi didn't _want_ to lie, and the truth came out all on its own, easy as breathing.

"I'm kind of... rusty, with all this. I didn't want to bother you, then I wondered if I should text or call, and eventually talked myself out of doing either. I was hoping you'd be here today, and I could avoid having to decide at all. I bitched out. It's... not like me. I'm sorry." Eren didn't say anything for a moment, looking a bit shell shocked at Levi's unflinching honesty. "So it s'all right? If I call you? Text you?" Eren nodded stupidly, taking a drink of water, though whether he was actually thirsty or was trying to put off speaking, Levi wasn't sure. When Eren put the glass down he took a deep breath, and it was with the air of a confession that he finally replied.

"One of my roommates thinks you're a serial killer." Levi's response was immediate, unthinking.

"Well I mean... That depends on your definition of the word."

The silence was loaded, and awkward, and Levi knew he shouldn't enjoy Eren's horrified expression.

But he did.

....

 

Levi texted Eren four times that day, each one a question of increasing strangeness. _Are you a vegetarian? Any foods you hate? Are you allergic to anything? What about your roommates?_ He was so confused, but it made sense when he finally got home after work to find Armin and Sasha in their kitchen with a mass of boxes and bags on their countertops. Each one filled with food from a local grocery store that he'd seen, but never actually been inside of, mostly because they were outrageously expensive. All organic fruits and vegetables, free range meats, cage free eggs. Which was lovely, in theory, but far out of Eren's price range. His roommates were struggling to fit it all in their disaster of a fridge, even as Armin threw out old takeout boxes and questionable milk and juice left over from the last party they'd had. He couldn't drink orange juice without tasting the ghost of vodka in it, even when there was none. There was also another bouquet of flowers on the table next to his half wilted roses. Wildflowers this time, purple and blue and yellow, in a shining white marble vase. His friends both looked up at him in unison, Sasha grinning like a maniac while Armin eyed him suspiciously. 

"So you have a sugar daddy now?" Eren sputtered, his bag falling to the floor as he threw his hands up in a defensive gesture.

"What?!? Armin, no!"

"I mean I'm okay with that, as long as he's not forcing you into anything. Fuck knows I wasn't sure how we were gonna eat until payday. But he's not forcing you, right? Because I can kill him and get away with it, if I need to. There are certain poisons that-"

"ARMIN. STOP. He's not my sugar daddy! And he's not forcing me into anything! We haven't even _done_ anything! Where did all this come from?" Sasha threw an arm around his neck, pulling Eren down into a headlock and ruffling his hair.

"The grocery store showed up with it, said it was a delivery for us courtesy of a 'Mr. Levi Ackerman.' He gave us FOOD Eren! WE HAVE FOOD! Fuck I was so tired of bar chicken wings and ramen!" Eren struggled out of her hold, and Armin produced a card with his name on it. He opened it up, not sure what he expected to find there.

_Eren-_

__Don't be a little shit, just eat the damn food without complaining. You told me you guys were barely keeping your power on, I can't imagine you're eating all that well. Your friends can't pass their classes if their starving, right? Think of it as my apology for being an idiot._ _

___Also, I need you in good shape for... various reasons._ _ _

____Yours truly, Levi Ackerman._ _ _ _

___He glanced up to take in the sheer quantity of food there, dry pasta and rice and beans, fruit stacked high in a wooden bowl he'd never seen before, even a bag of chocolate bars sealed in decorative plastic wrap. The freezer was still open, packages of meat piled up in neat rows. Still, he wasn't sure there would be room for everything. Maybe they could invite some of their friends over that night, let Armin cook for everyone and burn through the perishables that would not keep. The blond glanced up at Eren from where he sat in a pile of lunchmeat and yogurt and little juice boxes, grinning._ _ _

___"So not your sugar daddy, then what? C'mon, Jaeger, spit it the fuck out. I wanna hear you say it." Sasha was staring too, bouncing on the balls of her feet, a bag of chips clutched to her chest like an infant. He scratched nervously at his hair, looking anywhere except them, but there was no point in lying, was there?_ _ _

___"He's... my boyfriend, I guess. We ate lunch together today."_ _ _

___Sasha squealed, flinging her chips into the floor and trying to pull Eren into another headlock. He ducked out of the way, and then he was running from her as she chased him, cackling all the while. She caught him eventually, tackling him to the floor in the living room and trying to put him in a choke hold. Armin stood in the doorway, watching them wrestle around with a bored expression, a loving parent exasperated by his children's antics._ _ _

___"I'm happy for you, Eren. But the offer stands. If I need to kill this guy, just tell me okay?" Eren gasped out an answer as he fought to get out of Sasha's grasp without actually hurting her._ _ _

___"O-kay, Armin!"_ _ _

___For some people, it would have been an empty threat, but Eren knew Armin was not joking. He would literally murder someone for Eren, and not feel the least bit guilty about it. As he flipped Sasha onto her back and buried his fingers in her ribs to tickle her viciously, Eren's face hurt from smiling._ _ _

___Armin would poison some guy he didn't even know if Eren asked him to. Sasha was just as excited for Eren as she would have been for herself in the same situation, if not more so. He was pretty sure he couldn't be happier, all things considered._ _ _

___Then Levi called him before bed with a _'Hello, love,'_ voice silky and soft and full of dark promises, Eren he knew he'd been wrong._ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I guess I have a thing for people buying food for their significant other? Something like this also happens in Misread, and it's probably self indulgent, because when I was poor(er) if someone had offered to go buy me some groceries I would've wept in gratitude.


	5. Staccato

Three weeks.  Three weeks of frequent daily texts, which were all typed out and punctuated with unsettling precision but full enough of profanity that Eren could still hear Levi speaking the words in his head.  Three weeks of meeting him at the cafe and listening to that drawl of his that shouldn’t have been sexy, but was, somehow.  Three weeks of having it pouring right into his ear at night through the phone.

 

Always  _ ‘hello love,’  _ and  _ ‘sweet dreams darlin’,’  _ and Eren should be used to it by now but was failing miserably at keeping his shit together.  

 

Sometimes their conversations were interrupted by Levi hissing at someone to _ piss off, you fuck, I’m busy, _ and Eren thought he heard gunshots once, but he decided not to dwell on it.

 

The flowers had stopped, but only after Eren insisted that he had nowhere else to put them and what the fuck were they supposed to do with so many vases, anyway.  Levi had merely replied he could send them without vases, and Eren shut him down again.  They’d been eating together at the time, and Levi looked genuinely disgruntled at being told ‘no more presents’.  He’d honest to god  _ pouted, _ eyes clouding and lips thinning into an irritated line, as though being told not to spend so much money on Eren was some sort of travesty.

 

_ ‘You don’t have to buy my affections,’ _ Eren said, and Levi just smirked.

 

_ ‘I never had to, the first day we met you were ready to straddle me and-’ _

 

A hand over Levi’s mouth had silenced him, but done nothing to erase the gleam in his eyes.  Then he’d kissed Eren’s palm, and grinned wider when Eren jerked his hand back like it had been burned, cheeks going pink as they so often did around Levi.

 

Three weeks of those kisses on Eren’s jaw, or his knuckles, or the corner of his mouth.  They never quite landed right where he wanted them to, or lasted long enough to be anything but frustrating, and Eren wanted to scream even as they warmed him inside.  Levi held his hand, and played with his hair, and called him enough affectionate pet names that if someone was around to listen, they’d probably be rolling their eyes and gagging.  Jean had shared a table with them one day, but ended up fleeing to eat inside after muttering that ‘he didn’t get paid enough to listen to this gross shit’.

 

Eren could listen to Levi talk all day long and not get tired of it.  He waited until they hung up the phone at night sometimes, Levi’s voice still fresh in his thoughts, and took himself shamelessly in hand.  Back arching, toes curling into the sheets, thighs shivering and stomach clenching and _ Levi, please, Levi… _

 

But three weeks was apparently the outer limit of his roommates’ patience, because they both pretty much demanded he invite Levi over for dinner so they could meet him.  Sasha begged, and promised to behave.  When Eren refused, Armin ‘offered’ to go down to the office building where Levi worked and see him on his own.

 

Which would probably end up with his best friend subtly threatening Levi with death and dismemberment if he mistreated Eren in any way.  Normally it would be endearing, but considering who Levi was the prospect was slightly worrisome, and Eren really needed to be present for their introductions.  He knew Levi wouldn’t hurt Armin in any way, but the idea was still unsettling.

 

Armin was a force to be reckoned with, but Levi’s workplace was full of literal gangsters, and Eren didn’t really want to watch a worst case scenario play out.  Armin would probably manage better than anyone expected, but he couldn’t seduce, poison, misdirect or outsmart that many people.

 

Not all at once, anyway.

 

Eren wasn’t embarrassed by his friends, nor was he worried that Levi would be anything but polite to them.  But Sasha was a little overwhelming, and Armin often had zero respect for personal boundaries.  There was no telling what questions they would ask Levi, or god forbid, what stories they might tell him about Eren.  Even if it went well Eren doubted he would come out unscathed.  Still, Levi had asked more than once if Eren was ever going to invite him over, and if he put it off any longer he risked giving everyone the wrong impression.

 

Which was how Eren ended up cleaning like a lunatic late one Saturday afternoon, the smell of cleaner so strong he thought he might be getting high off it.  Sasha was working an early shift at the bar, and Armin had gone to Annie’s to finish up some project they were doing for one of their classes, leaving Eren to frantically get their place at least somewhat tidy.  

 

Okay, maybe it was mostly Eren’s room that was a disaster area, but that wasn’t the point.

 

Eventually he was through cleaning, or had at the very least given up and decided it was good enough.  Whatever strange pasta bake Armin had given him the recipe for was in the oven along with some garlic bread, just waiting to be heated for a half hour or so.  The salad was ready in the fridge, even if it had taken some fairly ballsy stacking to get the bowl in there without rearranging everything.  When he took it out he might lose a toe to a jar of pickles or something, but laziness won out over the threat to his appendages.

 

He was drying off his hair, fresh out of a shower, when there was a knock at the door.   Eren rolled his eyes and wrapped the towel around his hips instead to go and answer it.

 

“Sasha, goddamn it, could you at least remember your keys one day a week?  Just one day, any day, I don’t care whi-”

 

Eren trailed off as soon as he threw open the door to find Levi standing there, an hour early and dressed in a way that should be illegal.  He’d thought the whole suit and tie thing was unbearably hot, especially considering how well Levi wore them.  But he was used to seeing Levi dressed to the nines, all pinstripes, and ties, and fuck Eren’s whole life, goddamned fedoras that managed to look attractive instead of ridiculous.  He was developing some sort of strange suit kink, but Eren could deal with that.  He was prepared to see Levi in a three piece and then jerk off until his eyes rolled back in his head to thoughts of silk ties around his wrists.  Untucked dress shirts, belt still fastened, Levi fully put together while Eren fell apart, bent over in front of him.

 

He was wholly unprepared for casual Levi in jeans and a charcoal button up that was unfairly tight, the top two buttons undone, his hair a little more unkempt than usual.  Still neat, but not slicked up with gel and combed meticulously in place, falling down almost over his eyes instead.  Eren stared, and only noticed he was doing so when Levi’s face twitched into a crooked grin, eyes creeping up and down him with a devious gleam.

 

“I thought we’d eat dinner with your friends first, at the very least, but this works too.  I ain’t gonna complain.”

 

Eren’s first instinct was to slam the door in his face, but he resisted the urge and stepped backwards to let Levi pass, covering his face with his hand and trying not to melt into an awkward, embarrassed puddle on the floor.

 

“You’re early.  Extra early.”

 

Levi eased past him slowly, still smiling even as he pressed a kiss to the fingers Eren was hiding behind.  He made a strangled sound in his throat, something between a whimper and a groan, and Levi laughed at the noise.

 

It was going to be a long night.

 

………………………………….

 

Levi was fucked.  Royally, epically fucked, and he wasn’t even upset about it.  He’d been holding back, making only the most tentative advances, trying to let Eren be the one who initiated anything overly physical between them.  Levi felt guilty about their first encounter, about pushing forward on nothing but Eren’s infatuation and his own raw desire.  So now he gave the barest teasing kisses, and held Eren’s hand like a fucking teenager at a goddamned carnival, and ignored the fact that he was more than half hard most of the time he was around the pretty little shit.

 

Then Eren answered his door in nothing but a towel, water dripping down the muscles of his abdomen, and Levi bit his lip and swallowed a groan, his resolve melting away into nothingness.  

 

Fuck it.

 

Maybe a kiss wasn’t too much to ask for, especially when Eren seemed just as eager for it as Levi.  He needed to taste that mouth again, slip his tongue between those plush, soft lips and feast on Eren’s precious breathy noises.  

 

Levi’s heartbeat started thrumming a bit faster, palms threatening to sweat, and he hated himself just a little for it.  

 

Someone had shot at him a few nights ago when he’d gone out with his squad against Kenny’s orders.  Levi got tired of looking at numbers and checking on the brothels and ground operations in the safety of daylight.  Nothing happened until nightfall in many of their locations, and it was hard to get a feel of how things were being run.  When he’d been in a questionable part of town, wrong place wrong time, and bullets had started flying, all Levi had done was roll his eyes and take cover.

 

Street level pushers had the worst aim, and Levi wasn’t about to compromise the integrity of his favorite piece to squeeze off a few shots at someone who might be trying to earn their family’s next meal.  Not that the cops were likely to run ballistics on a few shell casings at the scene of a gang related shooting, but he still wasn’t taking any chances.  They’d waited for the right moment and slipped away unnoticed.  But even with bullets pinging against the walls nearby, angry shouting he couldn’t make out, the wail of police sirens threatening in the distance, Levi’s breathing had been relaxed.  His heart beating in a calm rhythm, his palms dry, his hands steady.

 

Now he felt nerves creeping into him, felt himself getting flustered over the sight of Eren’s skin, flushed right down to his bronze chest.

 

It was pathetic, and stupid, and Levi was too old for this absurd pubescent bullshit.

 

Eren ran off to get dressed, and after taking much more time than strictly necessary to throw on clothes, he returned to hover awkwardly next to couch.  Opened his mouth a few times like he was going to speak before closing it again, hands fluttering uselessly in the air.  Levi took pity on him and snatched one, tugging Eren down onto the couch beside him.  Eren was stiff, and Levi held onto his hand and started toying with his fingers, tracing lines in his palm, not raising his eyes.

 

“Relax.  It’s just dinner with your friends.  You eat with me all the time, you eat with them all the time, it’s not a big deal.  No one’s gonna bite each other.”

 

Eren’s response came out too fast.  All in one breath, words stringing together, voice on the edge of frantic.

 

“But you’re in my _house_ this time, and you’re way too early.  I answered the door half naked for fuck’s sake, and my friends already think you’re my sugar daddy or some shit, and Armin keeps asking me if he needs to poison you, and you’re an actual, no bullshit gangster of some sort but I can’t tell them that, obviously, and-”

 

Levi’s palm on Eren’s cheek quieted him, and he turned Eren’s face towards his and leaned in close, until their lips were almost touching.  When there was only the barest of spaces between them Levi paused, trying to ignore the thundering in his chest and shiver in guts and all the ways his body was trying to tell him that no matter how it looked, he was definitely not in control of things.  Eren’s breath was warm on his mouth, eyes wide and bright, and Levi uttered a silent prayer to whoever was listening that his voice didn’t come out as wrecked as he felt.

 

“Okay?”

 

Eren nodded, an almost imperceptible motion that Levi could only see because he was right in Eren’s face, and Levi breached the distance between them.  Their lips came together, Eren’s eyes falling closed, and _ oh. _

 

Fuck.

 

It wasn’t their first kiss, but it felt like it, and Levi sighed against Eren and pulled him closer.  His mouth was warm, wet from where he’d been nervously running his tongue over them, lips a bit chapped but no less perfect against Levi’s.  He pulled back only to sink into the kiss again, Eren’s leg hitching up into his lap, and Levi splayed his hand out over Eren’s thigh and held it there.  Tugged, until Eren was half in his lap, arms coiling around Levi’s neck.  

 

Levi licked into his mouth, and let his hands slip under the edge of Eren’s shirt, fingertips gentle as they flattened against his back.  Eren was liquid against him, fisting at his hair, hips subtly rocking into Levi, everything in him dripping with desperation.

 

God, he wanted to do right by this boy and take things slow, but the thought of Eren splayed out on his sheets, flushed and sweaty and  _ begging,  _ was almost more than Levi could take. The temptation to throw Eren over his shoulder and carry him to his bedroom was overwhelming, and Levi was weighing the pros and cons, Eren all but writhing against him, when the front door flew open to reveal Eren’s roommates.  They froze, breaking apart but not separating entirely, Eren too surprised to act and Levi too entertained by his horror.

 

Sasha grinned, and Armin cocked an eyebrow up, and Levi could almost see Eren die a little inside.  

 

So he decided to make it worse and introduce himself, because Levi was nothing if not a gentleman.

 

“Levi Ackerman.  Nice ta meet you.  Eren’s talks about you guys a lot.”  

 

“All good things, I hope!”  Sasha chirped as though she hadn’t just caught them grinding on the living room couch, trying not to laugh as Eren extricated himself from Levi’s lap.  Levi shrugged with one shoulder, head tilted to the side.

 

“I mean, other than wanting to poison me, I think it’s mostly positive.”

 

Armin shot Eren a glare as he headed towards the kitchen.

 

“Great, thanks for that, Eren.  Now he’ll be expecting it, and it’ll be harder to pull off.”  He sounded totally serious, and Levi called after him.

 

“Could always try a dart, or somethin’ transdermal, instead of a consumed poison.  Element of surprise, and all.”

 

Armin and Levi ended up discussing methods of poisoning while the food was cooking, with Sasha opening the oven every few minutes as though it would be done faster if she kept checking.  She poured everyone some wine, and they finished the first bottle and were well into a second by the end of dinner.  The wine was shit, but he wasn’t going to mention it to them.  He’d drunk worse.  Levi and Armin’s conversation shifted to body disposal and forensics somewhere along the way, but eventually  Sasha managed to redirect the focus to food, and restaurants, and which food stands were safe to eat from.

 

He only managed to pry a couple of embarrassing stories about Eren out of them, both relating to what an absurd drunk he was, one of which involved him almost drowning in a decorative fountain downtown.  Levi made a mental note to take Eren on a date there at some point and ask if he was up for a swim, just to be difficult.  Thankfully Levi’s job was only mentioned in passing, as neither of Eren’s roommates seemed all that interested in hearing about the import and export activity of Ackerman Enterprises.  His job title both was and wasn’t a lie, but Eren got visibly uncomfortable when he discussed his work, and Levi was honestly surprised no one else picked up on it.

 

Everything had gone amazingly well, all things considered.  Sasha was a lightweight, which left Levi puzzled considering she worked at a bar.  She wobbled off into the living room with Armin after Levi offered to help Eren clean up.  Once everything was put away, Levi pinned Eren up against the counter and pressed slow, messy kisses to his lips.  It was only a few minutes of mouthing at one another and inhaling Eren’s breathy sighs before he pulled away to whisper.

 

“Let’s go to my room.”  

 

Levi shook his head, smiling.

 

“Nah.  We can’t fuck with your roommates in the living room, Eren.  Not with all the sounds you’ll be makin’, love.”

 

Eren  _ whined,  _ hips rolling forward against Levi, fingers digging into his shoulder blades.

 

“No, but I bet I can get my hand in your pants if I try hard enough.”  There was the distant sound of a door opening and closing, and low voices drifting from the other room, but neither one of them paid any attention.

 

“You’ve been drinking,” Levi argued, but it sounded weak even to his own ears.

 

“So what?  It’s just wine.  Please.”

 

The sound of Eren begging did dark things to Levi, and he realized he would do almost anything that pleading voice asked of him.  But not this, not yet.

 

“No.  Ask me again when you’re sober.”

 

“Leeeeeviiiiii…”

 

Footsteps, and then a woman’s voice, sounded out from the hallway heading towards the kitchen, and Levi eased back just a little, trying not to smile at the disappointment written so clearly on Eren’s face.

 

“Eren?  Your boyfriend still here?  I wanted to meet him!  And Armin said there’s some food left.  Can I-”

 

Levi threw a glance over his shoulder, only to have ice instead of blood running through his veins.  He turned around, standing up straight and laying his palms on either side of the counter, boxing Eren in behind him.  Levi was suddenly very aware of the metal of his gun biting into his lower back.  The weight of the knife in his pocket, the extra magazine strapped to his ankle.

 

Standing in Eren’s kitchen like she belonged there was Historia Reiss.  Heiress to the Reiss Group, and decidedly not someone Levi expected to see at dinner.

 

From the look on her face, and the way her hand twitched towards what had to be a hip holster before hesitating, she wasn’t too pleased to see Levi, either.

  
  
  



End file.
